Protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD) are processes that change the legal status of national parks and other protected areas. "Downgrading" is "a decrease in legal restrictions on the number, magnitude, or extent of human activities within a protected area (i.e., legal authorization for increased human use)." "Downsizing" refers to a "decrease in size of a protected area as a result of excision of land or sea area through a legal boundary change." "Degazettement" is defined as a loss of legal protection for an entire national park or other protected area. Collectively, PADDD represents legal processes that temper regulations, shrink boundaries, or eliminate all legal protections originally associated with establishment of a protected area.
PADDD is a phenomenon that has recently gained attention among scientists and policymakers. Scientific publications have identified more than 600 enacted PADDD events in 57 countries, encompassing a total of more than 550,000 km2 of protected lands.
PADDD was a topic of discussion at the World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia, in November, 2014.